Free technical assistance offered to Ohio landowners for agroforestry and habitat projects

Rural Action is providing free site visits and technical assistance to landowners in 44 Ohio counties for advice on agroforestry and wildlife habitat practices such as reforestation, forest farming, silvopasture, wildlife habitat and water quality protection through Rural Action’s sustainable forestry and watersheds programs.

The sustainable forestry team is working with the U.S. Forest Service on a forest landowner support project to provide technical assistance on forest farming, silvopasture, invasive species management and opportunities for sustainable forest management.

The watersheds team is working with landowners to develop plans to improve aquatic in-stream habitat through stream bank and flood plain reforestation, invasive species control, and other practices that benefit water quality and wildlife habitat.

The landowners are encouraged to work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service to learn more about potential cost-share opportunities such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to implement their plan to improve wildlife habitat.

During a site visit, landowners will have the opportunity to show their property to Rural Action staff, discuss goals and challenges, and identify opportunities for sustainable forest management, wildlife habitat and invasive species removal. In addition to the site visit, landowners will receive literature outlining details from the visit and next steps. This type of planning assistance can help landowners better understand their existing forest and water assets, identify new management opportunities or expand an existing enterprise.

If interested in technical assistance from forestry and/or watersheds, complete the intake survey. For information about forestry, email Andrea Miller at andrea@ruralaction.org, and for information about watersheds, email Ryan Gilliom at ryan@ruralaction.org.

Site visits are conducted from late April through early October. There is no minimum acreage to qualify for a site visit. Forestry and watershed site visits are available in the following counties: Adams, Athens, Belmont, Brown, Carroll, Clermont, Columbiana, Coshocton, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Highland, Hocking, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Mahoning, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Tuscarawas, Vinton and Washington.

Rural Action is a regional community development organization with a 58-county footprint, working with members and community leaders on a range of quality-of-life, environmental and economic projects across rural Appalachian Ohio. Its mission is to build a more just economy by developing the region’s assets in environmentally, socially and economically sustainable ways. Learn more about Rural Action at www.ruralaction.org.